


Fratello Mio

by Graysongirl



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Angel Dust is Bad at Feelings (Hazbin Hotel), Arackniss is confused, BAMF Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Character Study, M/M, Other, Sex Worker Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), They ARE brothers, They don't recognise each other, Valentino Being a Jerk (Hazbin Hotel), Valentino is in Hell for a reason, it's not incest, this is hard to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:08:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26861881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Graysongirl/pseuds/Graysongirl
Summary: Valentino wants to pull a fast one on a rookie demon sent over from the Envy district and needs Angel Dust to help out with a good old fashioned bit of distraction. The only problem is, Angel Dust wasn't counting on knowing the person he's being asked to take for a ride.
Relationships: Angel Dust & Arackniss (Hazbin Hotel), Angel Dust/Valentino (Hazbin Hotel)
Comments: 25
Kudos: 81





	1. Lustful Envy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valentino has a job for Angel Dust, one that should be nice and straight forward, but nothing is ever easy in Hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! This idea came to me in the middle of the night and refused to let go until I wrote it, so here you go!

It had been one Hell of a night and Angel Dust was absolutely beat. A small, satisfied smile crept across his face as he threw himself down onto the sofa in his dressing room and let the fistful of notes he was holding rain down over his body. Two months’ worth of rent fluttered down his fur and he lazily trailed his fingers down his curves, catching paper and fluff between his fingers and crinkling the crisp notes before letting them drop to the floor. 

He might have been a _little_ bit drunk. 

Rolling onto his side he giggled sluggishly and groped at the sea of green, trying to gather up some of the notes and failing. The show tonight had gone absolutely fantastically, far better than he could have planned. He’d practically been on fire, spinning around the pole so fast and dancing until his feet felt raw. Drunkenly, he fumbled with the clasp on his heels and kicked them off, flexing his toes and sighing with relief. In the privacy of his dressing room he could go bare foot, releasing his peculiar shaped toes from the confines the sky high stripper heels he often trapped them in. He had some much more sensible shoes to walk home in later and his eye watering collection of platform stilettos generally lived in his dressing room at the club. They were for dancing, not travelling. 

He reached down to massage the sole of one foot and hummed softly to himself, only looking up when he heard the soft snuffles of his pet pig waking up from his basket under the dressing table. He didn’t like leaving Fat Nuggets alone in his shifty apartment when he was working late, so the precious little Hellpig had his own safe space under the dressing table where he could sleep away the night whilst his owner danced. Cherri sometimes looked after him when she could, particularly on nights when Angel knew he wouldn’t be getting back until late or even the next morning, but she had her own life and couldn’t always take Nuggets for him. The pig seemed happy enough in the dressing room, a lot of the other dancers found him as adorable as Angel did and often sneaked in snacks and treats for him between sets. Often Angel wondered if his pig secretly preferred coming to the club rather than staying with his Aunt Cherri just because he knew he’d be spoilt rotten here. Not that Cherri didn’t do her fair share of spoiling as well! 

“We’ll go home soon, Nuggz,” Angel murmured, closing his eyes and letting his arms fall back limply by his sides. “Mama’s just gotta sober up a bit.” 

Nuggets snuffled his agreement and trotted over to the couch, perching his trotters against the arm rest and nudging against his owner’s hand for some petting. Angel laughed and obliged, rolling onto his side so that he could reach down to fuss behind his ears until the pig was practically purring with delight. 

“Ok, baby, you’ve made your point,” he grinned, swinging his legs down and standing up. The joys of being a well-functioning alcoholic combined with a demonic metabolism really helped a guy sober up fast, he noted grimly as he took his jacket off the hook by the door. He fluffed up the furry collar and buttoned it up, reaching down to fold Fat Nuggets into a tight hug as he opened the door with one of his upper hands. The money had been gathered up and safely put into his pocket, ready to pay his landlord with the next morning.

If he’d expected a quick get away with no interruptions he was going to be disappointed. 

“Angel cakes! Leaving so soon?” 

Angel tensed up at the sound of his boss approaching behind him as he shut the door to his dressing room, plastering a big fake smile on his face as he turned around to bat his eyelashes. 

“Yes, Mista Valentino,” he simpered, subconsciously holding his pig a little tighter. He’d heard the moth demon make one too many jokes about bacon sandwiches around him to feel entirely comfortable letting Nuggets anywhere near him. “I finished my set a half hour ago, big crowds- didn’t ya see?” The club was closed now, he knew that, so what was Val fishing for? 

“Yeah, I saw,” Val nodded, placing his hand on the door frame and effectively blocking Angel’s path to the exit. “That dragon tail pose looked a little sloppy, don’t you think? Maybe you should come back downstairs and practice.” 

“I…” Angel faltered and felt himself shrink back against the door. He’d thought his set had been perfect, the money burning a hole in his pocket right now proved that. “I was gonna just go home, Daddy,” he tried, hoping the nickname would butter his pimp up a little. “Ya don’t want me tired for my shoot tomorrow, right? A girl’s gotta get her beauty sleep.” He tried to duck down under the taller demon’s arm, only to be stopped by Valentino grabbing him by the fur on his coat collar. 

“I think you need to go downstairs and practice,” Valentino said firmly, glancing down at the pig in Angel’s arms that was starting to wriggle and protest. “Put your little Pork Scratching back in the dressing room and come downstairs.” 

“Fat Nuggets,” Angel corrected quietly, earning a sharp tug on his coat for his troubles. 

“Whatever,” Val sneered, letting go and pushing him through the door as he opened it and placed his pet down on the floor. Fat Nuggets looked back sadly, sitting in the doorway until Angel gently shooed him inside with a soft promise that he’d be back soon. 

“Leave your coat,” Val ordered. “I got a friend downstairs that I want you to work your magic on. Some lower class schmuck from the Envy district trying to cash in down here. I’m sure I can get what I need from him without you, but a little bit of… distraction never hurt anyone.” His eyes travelled down Angel’s body as he hung up the long coat. He was still wearing the tiny, bright pink hot pants from his set and nothing else under it. Valentino’s gaze stopped when he got to the clunky, functional boots Angel had put on and pushed past him into the room, opening the closet in the far corner like he owned the place and tossing him a pair of black Pleasers with diamonds sparkling the length of the sharp heel. 

“Put these on, they make your ass look good.” 

Angel nodded and wordlessly began to change his shoes. He hadn’t worn these for years. They’d been one of the first gifts Val had ever bought him and while at first they’d been his favourite thing to dance in, once the moth had shown his true colours the sight of them had started to make Angel’s stomach turn. He hadn’t dared throw them away or sell them, but had hoped that throwing them in the back of his closet would mean he could just forget about them. They added several inches to his height once he straightened up and he linked his arm through Val’s on autopilot as the demon lead him out of the room. 

It was scary sometimes, how easily his body melted against the moth demon when he needed to. He cuddled up close to him and rested his head on his shoulder, the red velvet tickling his cheek as he reached up with one hand to play with the heart patterned fur that decorated the collar. He knew the drill, Val liked whoever was on his arm to put on a nice show in situations like this and it was always easier to start on the walk down and get into character in advance, so to speak. He let out a breathy laugh as the demon said something to him that he didn’t hear and bobbed up on his toes to kiss him on the cheek as they entered the main room of the club. His senses were flooded with the scent of the cologne Val was wearing and he recoiled a fraction at the scent, unwanted memories creeping up on him at the closeness. 

Val pulled him closer and hissed in his ear to lose the attitude, his nails digging into his arm in warning as he led them to the table where, presumably, the demon his boss was trying to scam was sitting. The moth seated himself opposite and patted his lap for Angel to sit down on it. Angel didn’t give the visiting demon a second glance as he dropped down onto Valentino’s lap, nuzzling close to him and closing his eyes. 

Show time. 

As Val began to talk, Angel sat up and pouted, pawing at his jacket as if he was trying to take it off. 

“Daddy, I’m _bored_ ,” he purred, nipping at his throat with his teeth and glancing back at the demon. It was some kind of spider, he guessed, though much shorter than he was and with dark grey fur that was almost black. Weird, he hadn’t seen many other spider demons down here in Hell, at least not in the Lust district. Hadn’t Val said this guy fell under Envy? Not that it mattered, he was probably never going to see this john again. “Can we _play?_ ” 

“No, baby doll, Daddy’s working,” Val teased, stroking his ass and hitching him up so he was straddling him. Angel kept his gaze looking back at the spider demon, grinding his hips against Val as he locked eyes with the uncomfortable looking guy opposite. The demon seemed to be doing anything he could to avoid looking at them both and Angel could see a small pink blush forming under the dark, coarse fur on his cheeks, all eight of his red eyes fixated on the floor. 

“Okaaaay,” Angel pouted, climbing down off Val’s lap and standing with his hand on his hip. “I’ll go play with myself then.” With a wink at the flustered spider demon, Angel blew a kiss and went over to the stage, placing his hand on the nearest pole and doing a few simple step around to warm himself up. They’d played this game a thousand times, it was always the same. Val would bring in some john that was hard to crack and Angel would do his best to distract them from afar during the deal making so that they slipped up and signed their life away without realising. It was surprisingly effective and even the most business savvy of demons seemed to fall for it more often than not. 

He pulled himself higher up the pole to do some more daring moves and inverted himself so that he could look back over at the pair sitting at the table. He gripped the pole tightly with his thighs and let his four arms fall down towards the floor, just skimming the surface of the stage. With a teasing smile on his face he slid his hands up along his chest fur and puffed it up, letting a finger sit just above his waist band before hoisting himself back up the pole so he was holding himself sitting there. Almost as if he was reclining in a sun lounger he crossed his legs out in front of him and lazily rested on hand on the pole, trying to over hear what was being discussed without him. The best he could make out was something about territory bordering on the Lust district and the usual crap about money and who it was owed to. Angel didn’t pretend to understand all the political nonsense that went on with Overlords. All he knew was money made the world turn and that people seemed to like being able to say how many square feet of Hell belonged to them. 

“Angel, bring us a drink,” Val called over to him, obviously spotting that he had stopped dancing when he’d began to pay closer attention to them. 

“Sure thing, Daddy,” he hooked one ankle around the pole and spun himself back down to the ground, landing demurely on the stage and using the pole to stand himself up with an exaggerated roll of his body. Swaying his hips to the music playing quietly over the speakers he sashayed over to the table, perching on the plush sofa seat in the booth next to the spider demon. 

“I already know what Mista Valentino likes,” he purred, reaching out and taking hold of the demon’s green tie and rolling it between his hands. “But what’s your poison, sugar?” 

“Touch me again and I’ll pop yer lights out,” The black spider hissed, batting Angel’s hand away as if he’d been stung and straightening his tie. 

“Arackniss, baby, cool it, we’re all friends here,” Val laughed amicably, raising his hands in a peace gesture. “My Angel Cake is just trying to be friendly, right Angie? …Angie?” 

Angel Dust wasn’t listening. He was too busy staring open mouthed at the spider demon opposite, a frown slowly creeping onto his face as he started to stand up and back away from the table. 

“Angel Dust.” Val’s voice was harsh, cutting into his thoughts like a knife as he clicked his fingers at Angel to snap out of it. 

“I… yeah, no worries… Arackniss?” He said carefully, still staring but managing to stop himself catching flies anymore. “I can guess what kinda drink ya want.” He turned heel and made his way to the bar, giving himself a quick pep talk on the way to try and bring himself back into focus. This wasn’t supposed to be happening, this wasn’t supposed to be happening at all. He let himself behind the bar and started to pour the drinks, working quickly and tottering back to the table with the fake smile back on his face as if nothing was wrong. 

“Scotch, neat with a twist for Daddy,” he said, placing the short glass down on the table in front of Val before turning to Arackniss. “And for you, _un Campari, fratello mio._ ” 

The sound of glass shattering filled the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be a two parter, so not a long fic but it might set some ideas rolling for further ideas! I've started to read a few fics with Arackniss in and started to really get an interest in how he and Angel might be in Hell. Naturally, please assume you wouldn't immediately recognise someone in their demon form if you weren't expecting to see them, especially if they're introduced with a different name. FYI, I will be using Giovanni as Arackniss' true name as that seemed to be a fan favourite from what I've read since Vivzie hasn't said his official one yet. If anything ever becomes canon in that regard I'll go back and edit.


	2. Conversations with dead people

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel and Arackniss have a long over due heart to heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here's the second part, everybody! It kept jumping between humor and seriousness so just enjoy the ride, ok?
> 
> Note: assume all their conversation following the switch to Italian is all in Italian until they go back to the club!

Angel jumped back in shock as the bright red liquid splashed all over the table, shards of broken glass flying in all directions that narrowly missed landing on him. Arackniss, on the other hand, hadn’t faired so well and stood up in disgust, the front of his suit pants drenched in the alcohol causing a rapidly spreading stain to make its way down his front. 

“ _Idiota!_ ” The dark spider hissed, shaking the liquid from the hand he had been holding the glass in moments before his grip had shattered it. 

“Angel, help out our friend.” Val snapped in annoyance. What was the stupid spider playing at? They had played this game a hundred times and Angel had never made a client react like that before. He must be seriously off his game tonight to be getting someone so flustered in such a wrong way. The dark furred spider was already looking tense enough to spring up and leave before all this kicked off and now he looked even worse. 

Angel Dust broke his eye contact with Arackniss and turned to look at Val before glancing back at the spider. Did he not know? He scanned his eyes for some kind of recognition but found none. The moth demon opposite him seemed completely unaware of the horrific chance meeting that was unfolding in front of him. With a small, tinkling laugh Angel quickly put his arm through Arackniss’ and practically dragged him out of the booth, squeezing his arm in warning and grinning at Val as if nothing was out of the ordinary. 

“Sure I can help out, it looks like I got you all wet,” He simpered, giving Arackniss another warning squeeze as he felt the spider try to dislodge himself from his grip. “Why don’t we go and get you out of those pants?”

“What?” Arackniss stopped his struggling and glared suspiciously at Angel, his arm frozen mid twist as he tried to weasel his way out. “I don’t want to-“ 

“No, no, you really do, Mista!” Angel insisted. “Ya want to come up to my dressing room and get nice and comfy, right?” 

“I… do?” Arackniss blinked in confusion, not really getting the gist of what was going on.

“Yeah, you really do,” Angel told him, patting him on the arm with one of his free hands and smiling at Val. “Sorry Mista Valentino, sir! Let me help out, I’m sure I can make this all better for ya.” 

“You’d better,” Val hissed, a warning glint sparking in his heart covered eyes as he lit up a cigarette and glared at Angel. If the demon’s incompetence messed up this deal with him there wouldn’t be a single place in Hell he could hide from him. He wanted that territory in the Envy district and by Satan he was going to _get_ that territory in the Envy district. 

“What’s going- mmph!” Arackniss’ question was cut off by Angel quite literally putting his hand over his mouth. 

“Ssh, baby, hold your questions til after we get comfy,” Angel grinned, throwing a wink over his shoulder at Val in what he hoped looked like some kind of cool, conspiratorial spy kind of way. He wasn’t cut out for his espionage shit and Val looked pissed as Hell. He quickened his pace, keeping a tight grip on his brother until they were out of the main body of the club and standing in the hallway that lead to the dressing rooms. With a small glance around to check they were alone he took his hand away from Arackniss’ mouth and took a step back. 

“ _Italiano?_ ” he asked, just to be on the safe side. 

“ _Si,_ ” Arackniss nodded, swapping back to their mother tongue with ease. “What’s going on, Anthony?” 

“Come on, I’ll explain through here,” Angel told him, keeping up the Italian as well as he lead Arackniss to his dressing room. It felt strange to be speaking that language again after so long. Valentino didn’t understand a word of it and it was only every so often in porno to sound sexy and when he was alone in his head with his own thoughts that he let himself slip back into the soft language of his old family. He pushed open the door to the dressing room and ushered Arackniss inside, locking it for good measure even though he hoped Val wouldn’t risk walking in on them. For all the moth demon knew, Angel was up here seducing their patron into signing some kind of deal so Angel was banking on his boss not wanting to mess that up. 

“Take a seat, it’s clean,” he gestured to the bright pink couch. 

Arackniss tentatively took a seat, gingerly moving one of the fluffy pillows out of the way and picking up a pair of handcuffs that had slipped out from behind it. “Uh… Anthony?” 

“Jesus Christ, Gio!” Angel snatched the cuffs out of his hand and threw them into a box in the corner along with several other questionable items. “And don’t call me that. It’s Angel Dust in here.” 

“Well, don’t call _me_ Giovanni!” Arackniss countered haughtily. “It’s Arackniss now, thank you very much.” 

“Yes… yes, I heard,” Angel replied, ducking down to a cabinet to pull out a bottle of gin and stifling a giggle. “That’s very… unique.” 

“What’s wrong with it?” Arackniss hissed, folding his arms across his chest and scowling. “It’s a good name!” 

“Sure, sure, it’s lovely,” Angel smirked with a wave of his hand as he set about pouring a glass of the gin for both of them. He didn’t bother to measure, deciding that they had both had a big enough shock tonight to warrant a fairly sizeable drink. He handed one over to the spider on the couch and leant against his dresser, letting his breath out in one long sigh. “So. Dead, huh? How’s that workin’ out for ya?” 

“Not great,” Arackniss admitted, taking the drink and having a long sip of it. “Took a bullet to the chest about 4 years after you bit the dust, or inhaled it if we’re being technical, woke up surrounded by ice and snow and realised that yeah, I done fucked up.” 

“Envy is covered in snow?” Angel asked curiously, getting a bit side tracked. He’d never left the Lust district so he hadn’t got a clue about all the other realms of sin. Val travelled all the time doing his overlord stuff but he never took anyone with him except Vox and sometimes Velvet if she insisted on tagging along. Angel sometimes wanted to go, whereas other times he felt glad that he was so insignificant that he didn’t need to leave the place he knew. 

“Yeah, fuckin’ freezing, bro,” Arackniss told him. “This place is like a desert though. How do you survive?” 

Angel gestured to his outfit, or lack thereof, and quirked his eyebrow. “I get by,” he told him. “Plus it gets fuckin’ cold on a night here too.” Angel suspected that was to entice people into cuddling up for warmth, got to further the temptation and all that after all. 

“Ew, yeah, put some fuckin’ clothes on, ya whore,” Arackniss shuddered, suddenly noticing what his younger brother was actually prancing around wearing. The little pink shorts barely covered anything and needless to say it wasn’t a sight he needed to see. Angel rolled his eyes, but dutifully took a robe from a hook on the back of the door and slipped it on over his shoulder, belting it at the waist and sitting down on the other edge of the sofa.

“Better?” He asked sarcastically, daintily crossing his legs and bobbing his heeled foot up and down a little. 

“Barely.” Arackniss took another drink and looked away, catching sight of Fat Nuggets under the dresser, staring at him intently with glowing eyes. “Why is there a pig in the room?” 

“Because he gets lonely if I leave him at home,” Angel told him. “Come to mummy, Nuggs!” He made cooing noises until the little Hellpig trotted over to him and lifted him up onto his lap, turning him so he could see Arackniss better. “Nuggs, this is your Uncle ‘Niss. He’s a stuffy bastard who doesn’t know how to have any fun.” 

“Angel!” Arackniss groaned, angling himself away from the pig that was currently trying to snuffle his way towards him to investigate a little more. “Cut it out, be serious!” 

“Nah, why would I do a silly thing like that?” Angel grinned, keeping a firm hold on Fat Nuggets so that he couldn’t really escape and go over to Arackniss. He might be his brother, but he didn’t entirely trust him just yet with his precious baby. “Anyways, why are you here in my lovely part of town?” 

“Boss wants to negotiate with that Valentino guy,” Arackniss told him with a small shrug. “Pops figured I was the best bet seen as it was over here in the Lust district. He said he was a bit too old to be hanging around this type of joint so sent me.” 

“Wait, Pops is here?” Angel asked. “Oh, duh, why am I not surprised… when did that happen?”

“Same time it did me,” Arackniss told him. “I think it was probably a few seconds after I got hit. We both turned up here together anyhow.” 

Angel took a small sip, collecting his thoughts. Of course that bastard was in Hell, it was the only place fit for him after everything he did. He supposed he should be glad with was ‘Niss that had turned up here tonight and not dear old Dad. He somehow doubted his old man would have been quite as forgiving towards Valentino sending a twinky male stripper to distract him during a business deal. He’d have pulled a gun on them in seconds if anyone had tried that when he was alive so he dread to think how he’d react now he was dead with no consequences to suffer. A question lingered on his tongue but he couldn’t bring himself to ask, instead taking another hard drink. 

“Molly aint here,” Arackniss told him quietly, sensing what his brother was thinking. He might not have that twin sense that his two siblings seemed to have had, but he could read him well enough. “Ma aint either, least, not that I’ve seen. They were good dames, Anthony.” 

“I told ya not to call me that,” Angel told him, reaching out to pour himself another drink. It was starting to feel like he needed it. 

“Molly was real cut up when you died, you know that, right?” Arackniss continued gently. “There weren’t no man out there good enough for her, no one understood her like you did. What you two had was real special.” 

“Niss I don’t want to talk about my sister,” Angel snapped. It hurt too much to think about Molly. When he’d been dying the last thing he’d thought about was that he was the last one there who’d looked out for her and that now she was going to have no one. Ma had died when they were young and their older brother had been so mindlessly devoted to everything their father did that he turned a blind eye when the older man took it upon himself to slap some manners into her, as he put it. 

“I’m sorry, I just-“ 

“Save it,” Angel told him. “It’s not like you can change anything that happened.” 

“Angel I would if I could,” he insisted. “If I’ve learned anything down here it’s that if I could go back up there and do it all over I’d be a better brother to you and Molls, a better son to Ma. I got so caught up in idolising Pops and wanting to be just like him that I…” He trailed off uselessly, swirling the droplets left in his glass and setting it down on the armrest. He took off his fedora hat and set it on the table next to them, running his hands through his short spiked hair. “I said it before, the second I died I knew I’d fucked up.” 

“Well I aint exactly a saint,” Angel shrugged, trying to ease the mood a little. He didn’t want their reunion to be this depressing. He was still angry at his brother for everything that had happened whilst they were alive, but Hell had at least given him some perspective that there were much, much worse people out there. “Guess we both just did what we could to survive. Hey, and look where that got us,” he smiled sarcastically and held his glass up to clink it against Arackniss’ in a mock toast. “To terrible life choices!” 

“And the terrible afterlife choices that follow!” Arackniss countered, picking his glass back up to accept the toast. “You really live here then?” He glanced around the achingly pink room and tried to keep his face neutral. “It’s very… you,” he finished lamely. 

“I got an apartment further out, but yeah, I basically live here most of the time,” Angel told him. “Val likes to keep me nice and close.” 

Arackniss caught the bitterness in his voice and frowned. “Is he your boyfriend?” 

Angel bit back a snort, if only Arackniss knew. That wasn’t a story he was about to go into, however, so he opted instead to simply shake his head. “No, not exactly. We just work together.” 

“And your work is?” 

“Of the adult nature. You’d not be interested, trust me.” 

“Ah. Gotcha.” Arackniss might be a sheltered prude, but he understood the type of things he was seeing in the dressing room. With handcuffs like that knocking around Angel definitely wasn’t working in law enforcement. “I won’t ask if you promise never to tell me.” 

“Deal,” Angel clinked his glass against his once more and grinned widely, the gold tooth glittering in the light. “So, we should get you into something dry.” He placed his glass down and gently set Fat Nuggets down on the floor where he happily trotted back to his little bed under the dresser. Angel sauntered over to his rack of clothes and started to leaf through them, humming softly as he mused. 

“Hey! I’m not wearing none of your stripper shit,” Arackniss insisted, jumping up from the couch and standing by the taller spider demon, critically surveying all the skimpy clothes that hung there. “Why do you have so many girls’ clothes?” 

“They aren’t girls’ clothes, they’re my clothes,” Angel told him pointedly as he took a pair of suit trousers from a hanger. “Here, put these on. They should fit you ok if you roll the legs up, shorty.” 

“I aint short!” Arackniss huffed, taking the pants and holding them up against himself. Angel had at least a foot and a half of height on him and he had to begrudgingly admit the pants would be long on him. They were both lanky and slim, at least, so the waist would fit him well enough which was the main thing. “Turn around.” 

“Prude.” Angel rolled his eyes but humoured him. 

“Hey… Angel?” Arackniss asked suddenly. “No- don’t turn around, just listen!” 

“I wasn’t gonna,” Angel held up his hands in defence and kept his back turned, still finding his brother’s shyness quite funny. They’d grown up together for Hell’s sake, he’d seen Arackniss wandering around in just his underwear on more than one occasion in their small house even well into adulthood so what was suddenly his problem? 

“When you, you know, turned, did anything… change?” Arackniss asked, sounding tentative all of a sudden. 

Angel slowly raised all four arms in a shrug and gestured helplessly. “Nah, can’t think of anything,” he mocked. “What d’ya mean?” 

“It’s just, yeah the extra arms are weird, but…” Arackniss trailed off, clutching the spare pants to his chest and fidgeting with them. “Are your feet like, um, ok? Nothing… changing there?” 

“Arackniss,” Angel said seriously. “You lost all rights to the ‘why is my body changing’ conversation when you told me my dick would drop off if I played with it too much when we were kids. I aint talking about your goddamn feet.” 

“Ok, ok,” Arackniss pulled on the new pants and quickly put his shoes back on. Pops hadn’t answered his question about the foot thing either and he’d spent the last few decades feeling like some kind of malformed freak and avoiding taking his shoes off at any opportunity. He started to roll the hems of the pant legs up and muttered that Angel could turn around now.

“Feel better?” Angel asked, watching him fold up his damp pair and place them on the side with his fedora. “Good. Now, what was my dear old Daddy wanting you to sign?” 

It took Arackniss a moment or two to register who Angel was referring to, making him stumble over his words a little when he replied, still unsteady in this strange new district and the odd confidence that seemed to be emanating from the brother that he remembered being quieter than a church mouse when he was alive. “The overlord in our district has some land that your overlord wants. I’m just here to negotiate borders and try to make sure we aint screwed over.” 

“Geez, is that it?” Angel almost wanted to laugh. Valentino was normally trying to collect individual souls, not land! Here he’d been starting to be concerned that Val was trying to sign his brother onto something, not a boring old patch of dirt or whatever it was he was trying to get. What did he want to do, try to build another strip club or something? 

“Apparently it’s very important,” Arackniss huffed. “I don’t know the details, I just had to make sure he didn’t take too much of it.” 

“Lust is the bigget district in Hell after the Pride district,” Angel scoffed. “If he wants land, he’ll get it. But I suppose I could take his mind off it for you if you want to refuse his offer.” 

“It is pretty crappy,” Arackniss admitted. “If I signed what he was offering I’d be majorly in the shit when I went back. You’d really be doing me a solid.” 

“I’ll see what I can do, brother,” Angel promised, giving him an awkward one armed hug. They’d never been big on affection when they were alive so the gesture felt uncomfortable and wrong, but Angel still felt he should do something. “Let’s go, I don’t usually spend this much time with johns so Val will start to get suspicious.” 

“Oh, God, does he think we’re-“ Arackniss broke off, unable to finish the sentence. “That’s disgusting!” 

“That’s business,” Angel corrected him grimly, handing him his fedora. “Now, you don’t want Val to find out we’re related so be sure to look all dopey and happy and shit when we go back down there. Now, I’m gonna hold your arm again so try not to look like a nun, ok?” 

Before the other spider could have a moment to protest, Angel looped his arm back through his and started to lead him back out of the dressing him, throwing a small wave over his shoulder to Fat Nuggets on the way out. He sauntered down the hallway and back into the main room. 

“Daddy!” He broke away from Arackniss and skipped over to Val, settling himself down on the demon’s lap once more and cuddling him. “I missed ya, Nissy needs to go home now, he says. Big meeting with his boss man.” He leaned up and whispered in Val’s ear so only he could hear. “I worked real hard, Daddy, but he says he wants to think some more.” He bit his lip and looked up at Val though his lashes, using his big puppy dog eyes to his advantage. Val reluctantly leaned away from him and looked Arackniss up and down. He still couldn’t work out what the Envy dwellers deal was, or if he even had one, but he sure looked flustered so perhaps Angel had done a number on him. Oh well, he could play the long game if he had to. The land he wanted in the Envy District bordered on the Pride district, meaning it was one step closer to Radio Tower. Just what his precious Vox wanted. 

“Arackniss, I hope my Angel was nice to you,” he purred, stroking Angel’s fur as he spoke. “If you or your boys ever want to come back here, you’re more than welcome. Run home and talk to your boss some more if you want, but don’t take too long… keep me waiting and I’ll just walk in and take that land myself. Understand?” 

“Yes, Sir,” Arackniss nodded, watching the way his younger brother curled up to the demon, gazing at him like he was the only person in the room. It was uncomfortable to watch, and it took every fibre of his being not to spring in to try and protect his family. Angel seemed to know what he was doing, and sounded confident when he said he could make Val forget about all this, or at least relent a little, so he supposed he had to just have faith in him. “Bye, Mister Valentino, and… stay safe, Angel Dust.” 

“Come see me anytime, _fratello mio,_ ” Angel smiled, sincerity hiding just under the surface of his words as he inconspicuously winked at Arackniss. 

“Did everything go well, my little Angel cakes?” Val asked after Arackniss had left, hoisting him up onto his lap so that he was looking down at him and couldn’t hide that pretty little face. 

“Yes, Sir,” Angel lied perfectly. “I did him over real good. Just one question though?” 

“Hm?”

“What the fuck kind of name is Arackniss?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed my little head canon! I want to explore more Arackniss in things. I feel like he and Angel have more to discuss.
> 
> According to some lore, the punishment for Envy is being doused in icy water, hence my decision to make the Envy district covered in snow. On the flip side, the Lustful are supposed to continually be burnt hence I decided their land is sweltering hot usually. Lust also get battered around by storms in Dante's works but that felt like a much more annoying weather condition to write and heat makes way more sense.


End file.
